Steam attachment for flatirons



April 13, 1954 T. s. ZASTROW ET AL 2,674,819

STEAM ATTACHMENT FOR FLATIRONS Filed Oct. 11, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTORS THOMAS S. ZASTROW 52 WILLIAM A. ANDRES BY we W AT TORNE YApril 13, 1954 T. s. zAsTRow ET AL STEAM ATTACHMENT FOR FLATIRONS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 11, 1948 W 0 Rs STR W s D MA 5 A V W A S AA HU ML TW w FIG.

A TTORNE Y Patented Apr. 13, 1954 UNITED STATES iATENT OFFICE STEAMATTACHMENT FOR FLATIRONS Application October 11, 1948, Serial No. 53,962

9 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to steaming devices and more particularlyto a steaming device for use in combination with a regular fiatiron orsimilar heated member.

Various devices have been proposed for attachment to a customary type offiatiron in order to convert the fiatiron temporarily into a steam iron.None of these prior devices has been developed commercially to anysubstantial extent. Some of the earlier steaming attachments areunreliable and inefiicient in operation in that they fail to provide forcomplete vaporization of the moisture. Thus drops of liquid are ejectedwhich spot or damage the goods being ironed. In other cases no provisionis made for efficient heat transfer from th flatiron heating element tothe steam generating chamber of the steaming device with the result thatsteam generation is neither dependable nor complete.

With these and other defects of the prior art in view, it is accordinglyone object of the present invention to provide an improved steamingdevice.

It is another object to provide a steaming device in. which completevaporization of the liquid will be obtained.

Still another object is the provision or a steam ironing device for usewith an ordinary fiatiron in which the attachment has a steam chambertherein, the cover or top of the chamber being downwardly recessedrelative to the remaining upper surfaces of the attachment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a steam generatingattachment for use below a fiatiron, in which there is a steam chamberwith a plurality of transverse pockets sloping downwardly toward theedges of the chamber.

A still further object is the provision of a steam iron in which thesteam generating chamber is readily accessible for cleaning purposes.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readilyapparent from the following specification in which a preferredembodiment of the invention is described by way of example, withparticular reference to the accompanying drawings. In these drawings,which form a part of this application,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a steam ironing attachment according tothe present invention mounted below and in contact with a regularfiatllOl'l.

Fig- 2 is a perspectiv view of the attachment of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view of the attachment taken on line3-3 of Fig. 7.

cover for the steam chamber of the attachment of the previous figures.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a suitable bafile member for use in theattachment.

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the soleplate of the attachment with thecover and baiile means removed to show details of the steam generatingchamber, and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the longitudinal center line of theattachment.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, one form of steam attachment according to thepresent invention, designated. generally as ill, is mounted immediatelybelow and in heat conductive relation with a regular flatiron H.Flatiron H includes the usual heated bottom plate i2 in combination witha cover shell IS, an operating handle M, a contrcl knob l5, and anelectric supply cord It. The supply cord It provides current for anelectrical heating element (not shown) within the iron. Control knob [5may be connected to a control device within the iron, in order to adjustthe temperature settings which will be maintained in the bottom plate l2by the electric heating element in known manner.

The steaming device or attachment ID, as shown in perspective in Fig. 2,includes a steam generating soleplate ill in combination with a suitablesource of liquid. While it would be possible to connect the soleplate llto a remote liquid supply tank by means of a flexible conduit, we preferto provide a self-contained liquid supply tank I8 which is mounted onthe steam generating soleplate ll by brackets 2G and which may be filledfrom time to time through a plug member l9. Thus when the attachment Itis mounted on the fiatiron H, it may be operated as a completelyself-contained unit with no external connections except the electricsupply cord it 'of the flatiron itself. Operation of the steamingattachment and flatiron in combination is accordingly just as convenientfrom the standpoint of external attachments as the operation of theflatiron alone.

Any desired mechanism may be provided for attachment of the steamingunit to the flatiron. In the present case, the forward end of the steamsoleplate I? is provided with a toe boxing or flange ii, the innersurface of which is sloped rearwardly and upwardly for engagement withthe corresponding portion of the bottom of the iron 12. A pivoted springlatch 22 on the steamingdevice is adapted toengage the rear portion ofth flatiron plate I2 and is controlled by an Fig. 4 is a perspectiveview of a removable operating handle 23. Thus the handle 23 may beraised while the forward end of the iron I2 is placed under the flange2!, after which handle 23 is released so that the spring latch 22 pushesdownwardly and forwardly against the rear portions of plate 12 to holdthe steaming device If) and fiatiron l! in assembled position. It willbe understood that any equivalent mechanism for maintenance of the partsin assembled relation could also be used as long as close contact isprovided between the bottom of the: flatiron plate I 2 and the top ofthe steam generating :plate H. The steam soleplate H is preferably madeof aluminum or other highly thermal conductive material to facilitatedistribution of heat for ironing and steam generation.

As best shown in Fig. 6, the steam soleplate H is provided in its uppersurface with a recess 24 which serves to provide a steam generatingchamber. In the embodiment shown, this steam chamber 24 extendslongitudinally of the iron.

At one end of the chamber, an opening or passageway 25 is provided forconnection to the source of liquid. Thus passage 25 serves as a moisturesupply inlet for the chamber 24.

At the other end of the steam chamber 24, a series of openings 26 isprovided, extending from the recess or steam chamber downwardly throughthe bottom of steam soleplate ll. These openings may be arranged in anydesired pattern and provide an outlet for the steam from recess 24 tothe bottom of the soleplate.

In general, the steam generating soleplate H is designed to receiveliquid through the supply inlet 2s and to vaporize that liquid so thatsteam may escape through the outlets 28. The plate might also be usedwith a separate steam generating unit in which case the supply inlet 25would bring steam to the chamber 24 and this steam would be superheatedand any particles of moisture would be completely vaporized during thepassage toward steam outlets 26.

To facilitate the generation of steam from the particles of moistureentering from the supply inlet 25, and to prevent surging orintermittent operation due to back pressure of the generated steam, therecess or chamber 24 is of increasing width from the supply inlet 25,toward the steam outlets 26. Thus the width increases gradually as faras the widest portion of the plate 11, indicated at 2?, in order toencourage forward flow of the expanding steam. The remaining portion ofrecess 24 from point 21 to point 28 may be of constant width. Theforward portion of the recess is then gradually tapered to a point at 29in order to conform to the shape of the forward end of the iron.Preferably, the steam outlets 26 are located at this forward taperedportion of the chamber 24.

To bring the liquid from the tank H3 (or other source) to the soleplateII, a pipe or tube 3| is provided (Fig. 7). Tube 31 carries a standardcompression fitting 32 which is threaded into the rear end of thesoleplate I! to obtain a liquidtight and steam-tight fitting. Thus anyliquid which is carried by the tube 3! from tank l8 will be brought tosupply inlet 25 of chamber 24.

The generation of steam from drops of liquid is facilitated by arrangingthe bottom of recess 24 so that it slopes upwardly away from the supplyinlet 25 as shown at 34 in Fig. 7. Portion 34 slopes smoothly upwarduntil it meets the remaining flat portion of the bottom of the recess,said flat portion being designated generally as 35.

This level 35 is maintained throughout the remainder of recess 24 to theforward end where the steam outlet 26 are located.

The steam outlets themselves may open downwardly into an enlarged groove36 which facilitates the distribution of the steam across the bottom ofthe soleplate in known manner.

As further shown in Fig. 6, a ledge or shoulder 31 is provided whichextends substantially all around the edges of the chamber 24. This ledge31 is spaced a predetermined distance below the top of the remainder ofthe soleplate H, this distance being indicated by the height of thevertical wall portion 38 adjacent to the ledge 31. Threaded openings 39are provided at spaced points along the ledge to accommodate fasteningscrews for the cover plate described below.

According to the present embodiment of the invention, the bottom surface35 of chamber 24 is provided with a plurality of pockets 4|. In the formshown in Fig. 6, these pockets extend transversely across the bottom ofrecess 24 from the central longitudinal line of the recess to each ofthe sides of the chamber. The bottoms of these pockets :li slopegradually downward from the center 52 of the chamber to the outer walls43 of recess 2 1. The portions of the soleplate I? between pockets 4|thus provide a series of spaced ribs 44 which separate the pockets fromeach other. As indicated in Fig. 3, the tops of these ribs 44 arehorizontal and flat and at the.

same level as the remaining portion of the bottom surface 35 of recess24. The function of the spaced pockets 4! and intermediate ribs 44 isdescribed in greater detail below.

A gasket or sealing member 65, shaped to correspond to ledge 37, ismounted upon that ledge. A cover or plate 45 whose outer edgecorresponds in shape to the configuration of wall portion 38 at theouter side of ledge 31 is in turn mounted upon the gasket 45 and ledge31. A plurality of screws 41 passes through the cover 45 and engages thethreaded openings 39 which are spaced along ledge 31. Thus the cover 46is readily removable and replaceable whenever it is necessary to cleanthe interior of steam chamber 24.

It would ordinarily be expected to be ideal to have the top of the coveror the top portion of the soleplate above the steam chamber absolutelyflush with the remaining upper surface of the steam soleplate, in orderthat heat from the fiatiron would flow smoothly and uniformly into allparts of. the attachment. We have found, however, that any projection ofthe cover plate above the level of the remaining upper surface isdetrimental to the steaming and ironing operation. 7 In such a case, thecover plate receives most of the heat and. is unable to transmit itreadily to the rest of the steam soleplate because of the insulatingcharacteristics of gasket 45 and the slight space around the coveredges. In any event, vaporization during ironing is incomplete and thetemperature of the bottom of the attachment is too low for satisfactoryironing,

On the other hand, we have also found that the top of the cover may belocated as much as forty thousandths (.040) of an inch below the levelof the remaining upper soleplate surface, and that satisfactory steamgenerating and ironing characteristics can still be obtained,particularly where the steam generating chamber is provided with theinclined pockets or tapered ribs described herein. In such a case, thecover still receives sufiicient heat to aid materially the generation ofsteam, while the major flow of'heat takes place downwardly from theflatiron through the sides of the steam soleplate adjacent to therecess. The ribs 44 are available to conduct the heat into the recess,while the inclined pockets 4| urge any particles of liquid to the hotsides of the steam chamber for complete vaporization. At the same time,suiiicient heat reaches the bottom of the steam soleplate to maintainproper ironing temperatures, due to the high thermal conductivity of thesoleplate.

Normal manufacturing tolerances make it impossible to hold the uppersurfaces of the soleplate and cover absolutely flush. Therefore, in thelight of our above findings, we have discovered that it is necessary torecess the cover slightly below the adjacent soleplate surfaces to adepth which is greater than the largest allowable cumulativemanufacturing variation in the opposite direction. Ordinarily, suchvariations will not re quire a depth of more than ten to fifteenthousandths of an inch, although greater depths can be used as indicatedabove, if needed. Thus in no case will the cover project above theremaining upper surface, with the result that proper heat conduction andsteam generation will always be obtained. This construction isillustrated in Fig. 3, in which the top of cover 46 is spaced justslightly below the level of the top surface 48 of the remaining portionsof steam soleplate ll. Thus a space 49 is provided between the cover 46and flatiron bottom i2. The heat from fiatiron member i2 will tend topass downwardly through the outer portions as of the steam soleplate I?rather than across airspace 4a and downwardly through cover 46. The heatwill thus be distributed selectively through the sides and bottom of thesteam chamber 24 where it will be most effective in vaporization of anyremaining liquid to steam.

Since the bottom surfaces of pockets 4i slope outwardly toward the edges43 of recess 24, any particles of liquid which have not been vaporizedor which recondense during their passage through chamber 24 will tend toflow to the outer edges of the pockets 4! as indicated at 5! in Fig. 3.The slope of the pockets 4i is designed to urge the liquid over to thesides or hottest portions of the steam soleplate I! where the liquid canbe readily vaporized. This slope at the bottoms of pockets 4| likewiseprovides a relatively thin or shallow edge indicated at 52 for any poolsof liquid which collect in the pocket. Due to the very small amount ofliquid present at this edge 52, the moisture is readily vaporized atthis point, particularly since the heat from the flatiron plate E2 iscarried to the sides and bottom portions of the steam soleplate I! asdescribed above.

The provision of a relatively large number of pockets 4! or, in otherwords, the provision of a relatively large sloping area at the bottom ofrecess 24 improves the steam generating characteristics of theattachment by urging all drops of liquid to the hot sides of theattachment and by distributing the liquid over such a substantial areathat vaporization may take place along a large number of shallow edgesor lines similar to that designated at 52. In this case, the upwardslope of bottom portion 34 away from liquid supply inlet 25 tends togive a similar thin line of vaporization to facilitate the initialconversion of the liquid to steam.

As already noted, the presence of the spaced transverse ribs 44 betweenthe adjacent pockets 4|, and the fact that ribs 44 are of decreasingcross section from the sides toward the center of chamber 24, tends toprovide a further means of conducting heat from the sides of thesoleplate I! to the intermediate bottom portions of steam chamber 24.

There is sometimes a tendency in steam generators of any type forparticles of moisture of liquid to be forced along through thegenerating chamber by the steam pressure built up behind and beneathsuch drops. Various baffle members have been used to resist thistendency and to assist in breaking up any drops of liquid which arepresent in the chamber 24. As shown in Fig. 5, we prefer a baffle member53 in the form of a screen whose shape corresponds closely to that ofthe periphery of chamber 24. The screen may have upper and lowerportions which are indicated in the drawings by means of transverselines 54 and 55. The upper portions 54 will lie in substantial contactwith the bottom of cover plate 46, while the lower portions 55 will bein substantial contact with the bottom of the recess 24. Thus the screensubstantially fills the entire cross section of chamber 24 above theribs and makes it necessary for any drops of liquid which attempt topass from the supply inlet 25 to the steam outlets 26 to pass throughthe screen member 53 one or more times. The progress'of such drops ofliquid is accordingly impeded and the baffle member 53 increases thetendency for such particles of liquid to follow the sloping bottoms ofpockets M to the lateral edges of the r cess 24 for vaporization by thesides and bottom portions of chamber 24. In some cases, the screenitself may be hot enough to vaporize part of the liquid. At the sametime, the bailie memher or screen is sufiiciently open so that it doesnot substantially retard the flow of the steam or vapor to the outlets26.

In order that the cover plate 46 may be made of relatively thin materialand may at the same time provide a steam tight seal with reference togasket 45 and ledge 32', plate 46 has been constructed in one form ofthe invention as shown in Fig. 4. Here the periphery ill of cover plate46 is undulated or wave-like in shape. The holes 5% for the fasteningscrews 4'! are located at the tops or highest points 58 of therespective undulations. In other words, the peripheral edge 51 isdeformed downwardly, as indicated at 59, between the respectivefastening openings 55. Thus, when the plate 45 is initially placed inposition on ledge 31 and gasket 45, the downwardly deform-edintermediate portions 59 will first engage the gasket. At the same time,the portions 58 adjacent the openings 56 may be slightly spaced abovegasket 45. As screws 41 are tightened, the cover plate 46 will graduallybe flattened so that not only the intermediate downwardly deformedporticns 59 but also the remaining upper portions of the undulations at58 will all be forced firmly against the gasket and ledge. Thedeformation or pre-stressing of the cover plate 46 makes it possible toutilize a smaller number of fastening screws and to space them fartherapart around the periphery of plate 45.

The operation and advantages of the present construction are believed tobe apparent from the foregoing description. The combination of thevarious features described results in efiicient steam generation andavoids the defects and disadvantages of prior constructions.

Changes and modifications may be made in the specific structure andarrangement of the parts, in the light of the teachings of thisapplication. The present invention is accordingly intended to includeall such modifications and improvements.

as fall within the spirit and scope of the attached claims.

Now, therefore, we claim:

1. A steaming device for attachment to the bottom of a flatiron,comprising a soleplate having a steam chamber therein, a moisture supplyinlet and a steam outlet at spaced points in the chamber, the chamberhaving in its bottom a plurality of spaced ridges providing a pluralityof pockets extending transversely with respect to a direct path betweenthe inlet and outlet, the bottom surfaces of the pockets being inclineddownwardly in opposite directions toward opposite edges of the chamberbetween said inlet and outlet.

2. A steaming device for attachment to the bottom of a fiatiron,comprising a soleplate having a recess in its upper surface forming asteam chamber, a moisture supply inlet and a steam outlet at spacedpoints in the chamber, a plurality of transverse ribs in the bottom ofthe recess extending transversely with respect to a direct path betweenthe inlet and outlet, said ribs extending to the edges of the recess,and a removable cover for the recess, the inner surface of the coverbeing spaced above said ribs.

3. A steaming device according to claim 2 in which the top of the coveris spaced slightly below the top of the adjacent portions of thesoleplate at the edges of said recess, thereby providing a substantialheat conducting path from the fiatiron to the portions of the soleplateat the edges of the chamber.

4. A steaming device for attachment to the bottom oi a fiatiron,comprising a soleplate having a steam chamber therein, a moisture supplyinlet and a steam outlet at spaced points in the chamher, the bottom ofthe chamber having a relatively larg area sloping downwardly in oppositedirections toward opposite sides of the chamber intermediate the inletand outlet.

5. A steaming device according to claim 4 having a removable coverclosing the top of the chamber, the upper surface of the cover beingspaced slightly below the top of adjacent portions of the soleplate,thereby providing a preferential heat conducting path from the flatironto the soleplate portions at the edges of the chamber.

6. A steaming device for attachment with its upper surface against thebottom of a fiatiron, comprising a soleplate having a recess in itsupper surface forming a steam chamber, a moisture supply inlet at oneend of the recess, a steam outlet at the opposite end of the recess, aplurality of transverse ribs providing intermediate pockets in thebottom of the recess, the bottom surfaces of the pockets being inclineddownwardly toward the edges of the chamber, the bottom of the recessalso sloping downwardly to said inlet, and the width of the recessincreasing from the inlet toward the outlet, and a removable cover forthe recess having its top spaced below the top of the adjacent portionsof the soleplate.

7. A steaming device for attachment below a flatiron, comprisin asoleplate having a recess in its upper surface forming a steam chamber,a moisture supply inlet and a steam outlet at spaced points in saidchamber, the'bottom of the chamber between'said inlet and outlet havinga plurality of transverse ribs, the bottom of the cham ber between saidribs being inclined downwardly and outwardly in opposite directionstoward opposite edges of the chamber between the inlet and outlet, andthe height of th transverse ribs decreasing from the edges toward thecenter of the chamber, and means for attachment of the soleplate withits upper surface engaging the bottom of a flatiron.

8. A steaming device for attachment with its upper surface against thebottom of a flatiron with the flatiron constituting the sole source ofheat for the steaming device, comprising a soleplate having a recess inits upper surface forming a steam chamber, a moisture supply inlet and asteam outlet in the chamber, a removable cover closing the top of therecess, and sealing.

means between said cover and the remainder of the soleplate, saidsealing means spacing the cover from the soleplate and therebypreventing rapid and effective heat transmission by conduction fromcover to soleplate, the area of the cover.

being smaller than the total soleplate area with unrecessed portions ofthe soleplate upper surface adjacent said cover, and the top of thecover being spaced slightly below the level of the top of the adjacentportions of the soleplate thereby providing a preferential rapid heatconducting path from the flatiron directly to the top of the soleplatearound the edges of the cover and steam chamber.

9. A steaming device for attachment with its upper surface against thebottom of a flatiron with the fiatiron constituting the sole source ofheat for the steaming device comprisin a soleplate having a recess inits upper surface forming a steam chamber surrounded by unrecessedportions of the soleplate, a ledge extending around the edge of therecess and spaced below the top of the soleplate, a sealing membersupported by the ledge, and a removable cover for the recess supportedon the ledge and sealing member, said sealing member spacing the coverfrom the soleplate and thereby preventing rapid and effective heattransmission by conductionfrom cover to soleplate, and the combinedthickness of the cover and sealing member being less than the distancefrom the ledge to the top of the soleplate, thereby providing apreferential rapid heat-conducting path from the fiatiron directly tothe top of the soleplate around the edges of the cover and steamchamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

